Embracing the Flow: How to Overcome Fear in Watercolor Painting

3 ways to embrace the messing flow of watercolor to experience more joy and diminish the fear of messing up.

Hi friends!

Watercolor painting is beautiful and expressive, but it’s normal, especially for beginners, to be hesitant and worrisome while painting with this medium. The unpredictable nature of watercolor can cause us to be fearful of making mistakes or trying new things. However, this fear should not be a reason for discontinuing your journey. Today I want to share with you some tips to help you overcome these fearful feelings and find success in your watercolor paintings!

1. Go with the mistakes:

Everybody makes mistakes and everything that they do and it’s just a natural part of learning a new skill. It can lead to beautiful techniques that we accidentally come across and new ways of putting down brushstrokes that we might not have thought of otherwise. We need to embrace the mistakes, searching for what we can learn each time to make improvements in the next composition.

2. Try projects on a smaller scale:

I encourage you to try to tackle small things first. Try making a 2“ x 2“ square and painting something small inside. Once you have created a thumbnail of what you would like to paint and feel confident, take that to a larger scale. It will not only increase your confidence, but give you a map for where you are going with your project.

3. Be mindful:

When we start to overthink by letting our fears seep in, we start to feel overwhelmed and anxious, which leads to the anxiety manifesting in our painting. Take a deep breath, remind yourself that this is supposed to be fun, and paint with the intention of getting better with every brushstroke. If you find yourself feeling anxious again, take deep breaths, walk away and take a walk, and come back when you feel more peaceful again.

Do you have a tip that helps you when you are feeling anxious over painting? Leave me a comment on your story.

Categories: : General Art Tips, Watercolor Painting, Watercolor flowers